Ohio has had 109 mass shootings since 2020, and guns are the leading cause of death for children in the state. But gun violence is not inevitable. In fact, several families of victims from one of our nation’s worst school shootings are proving that gun violence is preventable when you know the signs.
December 14, 2024 marks the 12th Remembrance of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a tragedy that took the lives of 20 first-grade children and six educators. This event galvanized people across the U.S. and completely reshaped the gun violence prevention movement.
Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit that was founded weeks after the tragedy by the loved ones of several victims, is honoring the legacy of those who were killed by emphasizing the transformation that has emerged since the 2012 tragedy.
Today, millions of Americans are taking action to protect schools, homes, and communities by understanding how to recognize the warning signs of violence and get help. They have also been working together to write and pass bipartisan polices that expand access to mental health treatment, deepen school safety programming to address the root causes of violence, and much more. These actions have been making a tremendous impact and saving lives across the country.
In Ohio, for example:
- More than 1 million youth and adults across 4,173 Ohio schools have participated in the Know the Signs programs.
- Nearly 6,000 students are involved in 187 SAVE Promise Clubs throughout the state, helping create positive school cultures where everyone looks out for one another.
- Click here to learn more about how Ohio can be a leader in school safety by supporting the passage of secure storage laws and other bills.
